Fastening means for bottle cuffs or the like



P 1940- c. D. PAINTER I 2,214,436

FASTENING MEANS FOR BOTTLE CUFFS OR THE LIKE Filed Aug. 10, 1938 INVENTOR. 6W 3. BY

A TTORNEY Patented Sept. 10, 1940 UNITED STATES FASTENING MEANS FOR BOTTLE CUFFS F OR THE LIKE Claude D. Painter, San Francisco, Oalif.-, assignor to Harry F. Borden, San Francisco, Calif.

Application August 10, 1938, Serial No. 224,150

1 Claim.

This invention relates to bottle cuffs or devices formed of paper or similar material which are placed upon bottles or similarly shaped containers, and pertains particularly to fastening means 5 employed to secure together the ends: of a paper blank to form and retain it in a cuff-like shape.

The value of the advertising space afforded by a paper cuff placed around a bottle may readily be appreciated, and several forms of devices are already known for this purpose. The qualities most to be desired in such a device are attractive appearance, ease in assembling and applying the device to the bottle, and durability of construction which will result in the cuff s retaining a neat appearance and remaining in its intended place on the bottle notwithstanding the careless handling to which it may be subjected.

It is the object of the present invention, therefore, to provide fastening means for a bottle cuff that will make possible the assembly of the cuff with great facility and that will hold the cuff rigidly in its assembled position both before it has been applied to the bottle and after its application thereto.

One form of the invention is illustrated in' the accompanying drawing and described in detail in the following specification wherein reference is made to the drawing and wherein other objects and advantages of the invention are made apparent.

In the drawing- Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view of a bottle with 'a bottle cuff made in accordance with the present invention in place thereon;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the two ends of the bottle cuff just prior to their being fastened together, and illustrating details of the fastening means;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a blank from which the cuff is assembled by bending and fastening together its overlapping ends; and

Fig. 4 is an elevation of the fastening means in assembled position as viewed from the interior of the cuff.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, Fig. 1 shows a bottle cuff having the fastening means of the present invention applied to a bottle having the general contour of a milk bottle. It is to be understood, however, that the shape of the cuff will be Varied to fit any desired shape or style of container. The blank from which the cuff is assembled is shown in Fig. 3 as comprising three connected disk-like members I0 and flaps II and I2 formed at its opposite ends and embodying the fastening means which serve when the blank is assembled to its cuff-like shape with the flaps II and I2 overlapping each other to retain it in this shape both before and after it has been applied to the neck of a container. The shape of the members I0 is a result of artistic design and has no bearing on the function of the fastening means presently to be described, as the general outline of the cuff may be varied widely to produce different artistic effects.

The flap II, at the left-hand end of Fig. 3, is provided with a semi-circular tab I3 projecting from the end thereof, and a semi-circular slit it cut in a position to form an identical tab I5 which may be bent out of the plane of the fiat blank. The tab I3 is bendable along the dotted line I6, and the tab I5 is similarly bendable along the dotted line H, which lines are of the same length and parallel to each other. It will be apparent as the description proceeds that the tab I3 need not project beyond the end of the flap II, but might, by a mere change in design, be in the same form as the tab I5.

The flap I2 at the opposite end of the blank is provided with a die-cut opening I8 through which the tabs I3 and I5 may be projected to form an interlocking fastening between the flaps II and I2. The opening I8 is defined upon two sides bya pair of parallel edges I9 and 20 of equal length and of substantially the same length as the base lines of the tabs I3 and I5 indicated by the dotted lines I6 and II, respectively. The ends of the opening I8 are in the form of reentrant angles 2I terminating in points positioned midway between the parallel sides I!) and 20.

The manner in which the fastening means described are interconnected is illustrated in Fig. 2, which is a View showing the flaps II and If as Viewed from the back or inside of the cuff when the blank has been curved and just before these flaps are brought together in overlapping relation. In this view the tabs I3 and I5 are shown as having been bent inwardly from the plane of the blank so that their protruding curved ends may be easily inserted through the slot 8 with the tab I3 adjacent the side 20 thereof and the tab I5 adjacent the side I9 thereof. The tabs I3 and I5 are bent to and temporarily retained in the position illustrated in Fig. 2 by pressure of the thumb and forefinger of an operator engaged in assembling the cuffs. As the flaps II and I2 are. brought together in an abutting relationship with the tabs projecting throughthe opening I8, the tabs are released and returned by their inherent resiliency toward the plane of the blank. 55

Due to the angularity of the edges of the opening l8 formed by the reentrant angles 2| release of the tabs I3 and I5 causes them to seek a position in the opening 58 with their bases, as indicated by the dotted lines l t and H in Fig. 3, disposed contiguous to and coextensive with the sides I9 and 20 of the opening. As the bases of the tabs are substantially the same length as the sides of the opening, and as the tabs themselves project through the opening to lie flat against the inner side of the flap E2, the flaps ii and I2 are securely held together by the fastening means, which tends to prevent relative movement in any direction of the overlapping flaps.

Fig. 4 illustrates the position assumed by the tabs l3 and i5 as viewed from the interior of the cufi after the fastening is complete, and Fig. 1 shows the appearance of the fastening means as viewed from the exterior of the cuff. The tabs l3 and will normally lie flat against the interior of the flap i2, as shown in Fig. 4, but when the cufi is dropped over the top of a bottle, the pressure of the flaps against the side of the bottle further insures against their becoming disarranged or slipping out of the opening l8. t is desirable that the opening l8 be, as illustrated, of less length centrally than it is along its sides E9 and 2B, but it is not essential that the shape thereof be exactly as shown, nor is it essential that the tabs #3 and it be semi-circular. While it is apparent that a secure fastening means would be provided should the opening 98 be eliminated, having instead thereof a pair of narrow slits formed along the lines IQ and 28 through which the tabs might be projected, the form of the invention here shown is preferred because of the greater ease of assembly. With the opening it shaped as shown, it is only necessary, in assembling the fastening means, that the end of the tab 113 be projected through onehalf of the opening, and the end of the tab I5 through the opposite half thereof, and as the flaps ii and i2 are brought toward their abutting positions, the bases of the tabs I3 and I5 will readily find their proper positions along the sides is and 22b of the opening.

While a specific embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail, it is of course to he understood that Variations may be made in its construction within the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

Fastening means for a paper cuif or the like comprising a pair of oppositely projecting substantially semi-circular tabs cut from one end of the cuff to bend out of the plane thereof, the opposite end of the cufi having an opening formed therein with two straight edges equal in length and spacing to the lines of bending of said tabs and two edges formed on re-entrant angles, whereby upon insertion of the curved ends of said tabs on opposite sides of said angles, the tabs will be guided to positions below the opening and projecting beyond said straight edges.

CLAUDE D. PAINTER. v 

